Officials from Canada, Mexico and China have warned US President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to impose sweeping tariffs on America’s three largest trading partners could upend the economies of all four countries.
Trump vowed on Monday night to introduce 25% tariffs on goods coming from Mexico and Canada and an additional 10% on goods coming from China.
“This is a relationship that we know takes a certain amount of working on, and that’s what we’ll do,” Trudeau told reporters.
Sheinbaum, who took office last month, noted that US car manufacturers produce some of their parts in Mexico and Canada.
The Canadian dollar, the Loonie, has plunged in value since Trump vowed to impose tariffs on Canadian imports come January.
Canadian, Mexican, and Chinese officials have cautioned that US President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to impose broad tariffs on the US’s top three trading partners could cause all four nations’ economies to collapse.
“One tariff will be followed by another in retaliation, and so on, until we endanger our shared businesses,” stated Claudia Sheinbaum, the president of Mexico.
On Monday night, Trump pledged to impose 25% tariffs on products originating from Canada and Mexico and an extra 10% on products originating from China. The duties, he claimed, were an attempt to combat illegal immigration and drug use.
In order to discuss a response, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he had a conversation with Trump in the hours following the announcement and that he would meet with provincial leaders on Wednesday.
“No one will win a trade war or a tariff war,” a spokesperson for China’s embassy in Washington, DC, told the BBC. “.”.
The global outcry followed Trump’s announcement on his social media platform, Truth Social, on January 20, which detailed his plans for his first day in office.
Trudeau declared that his nation was ready to cooperate with the United States in “constructive ways.”.
Trudeau informed reporters, “We’ll put in the necessary effort to improve this relationship, which we know requires some work.”.
Trudeau said he spoke with Trump over the phone about border security and trade, noting that fewer migrants crossed the Canadian border than crossed the US-Mexico one.
Trump’s staff refused to confirm the call.
However, Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung went on to say that world leaders wanted to “build stronger relationships” with Trump “because he represents global peace and stability.”.
President Sheinbaum of Mexico told reporters on Tuesday that the “migration phenomenon” and drug use in the United States would not be resolved by tariffs or threats.
Sheinbaum also threatened that Mexico would impose its own taxes on US imports in retaliation, which would “put common enterprises at risk,” while reading from a letter she claimed to have sent to Trump.
“Migrant caravans no longer reach the border,” she said, citing actions taken by Mexico to combat illegal migration into the United States.
She went on to say that drug use “is a problem of public health and consumption in your country’s society.”.
Sheinbaum, who started his job last month, pointed out that some parts made by US automakers are made in Canada and Mexico.
“Who is going to suffer if tariffs increase? General Motors,” she stated.
The BBC was informed by Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for China’s embassy in Washington, that “China-US economic and trade co-operation is mutually beneficial in nature.”.
He denied allowing the smuggling of chemicals used in the production of illegal drugs, such as fentanyl, into the United States from China.
Liu claimed that China had “reacted to US request for verifying clues on certain cases and taken action.”.
“All of these demonstrate how contradictory it is to believe that China willfully permits the flow of fentanyl precursors into the United States. “.”.
In addition to adding some of his own tariffs, President Joe Biden has maintained the ones that President Trump imposed on China during his first term.
At the moment, most of the goods that the two nations exchange are liable to tariffs: 66.4% of US imports from China and 58.3% of Chinese imports from the US.
Trudeau told lawmakers that “no one wants to go to war with the United States” during a speech in the House of Commons in Ottawa.
He urged everyone to cooperate and not “panic.”.
“That is the work we will do methodically and seriously. But without going crazy,” he said.
Province leaders in Canada proposed levying their own tariffs on the United States.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland stated on Tuesday that “the things we sell to the United States are the things they really need.”. “We sell them vital metals and minerals, as well as oil and electricity. “.”.
In 2022, America’s northern neighbor was the largest market for US exports and accounted for about $437 billion (£347 billion) of US imports, according to US data.
Approximately 75% of Canada’s total exports go to the United States.
The most populous province in Canada, Ontario, has a premier named Doug Ford, who declared Monday that the proposed tariff would be “devastating to workers and jobs in both Canada and the US.”.
According to Ford, “comparing us to Mexico is the most offensive thing I’ve ever heard.”.
Premiers of British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Quebec all agreed with Ford, and Premier Danielle Smith of Alberta acknowledged Trump’s “valid concerns related to illegal activities at our shared border” in a post on her X account.
The value of the Canadian dollar, or Loonie, has skyrocketed since Trump promised to impose tariffs on Canadian imports in January.
When Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Canadian goods during his first term as US president in May 2020, the Canadian dollar dropped below 71 US cents, the lowest level the Loonie has experienced since then. At about 4 point 8 cents, the Mexican peso hit its lowest point of the year.
